


Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow

by Bi_panic



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Don't worry it doesn't happen, Fluff & Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know what else to add, M/M, Romance, Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), he gets one, the boi is fine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26513377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bi_panic/pseuds/Bi_panic
Summary: Most of the time, Varian's life is pretty uneventful. He goes to his classes, visits dad every few weekends, meets up with Eugene and Rapunzel whenever he can, and tries to spend the other small amount of free time he has with Hugo and Nuru (though they are usually just as occupied as he is). But now? He wishes it would go back to uneventful.Varian is usually very good about safety. Hell everyone in his family is adamant about it so he has to be careful. That's why one night when he's walking home was an extra late class, he is surprisingly prepared for being jumped. He wasn't too surprised he had to fight off some creep but it starts getting more difficult as said creep proves to be a little too devoted to Varian's life.
Relationships: Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Nuru & Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 91





	1. Because why not?

**Author's Note:**

> Sup.  
> So I've had this brewing in my mind for a while so I thought why not give it a go. The pov's don't switch too often but when they do it's between Varian and Hugo. Sorry if this confuses anyone, I'll try to make it as clear as I can when writing.  
> Anyways, this chapter kinda throws you into it so there won't be much background info besides whatever you can piece together throughout the story.

Varian

Of course his class had to run 30 minutes late. Because why wouldn’t it? At this point, Varian was convinced he should switch to the AM classes, anything other than leaving the lab at 11:30 at night. It wasn’t that he cared about how long the class was, it was that now he would have to walk back to his dorm in the middle of the night, alone, fucking cold, and slightly unnerved.   
Now Varian usually wouldn’t be scared but apparently the chemicals in his brain hate him. So tonight he walks quickly and with a tight grip on his switchblade (a gift from his aunt, a strange but appreciated one). The night is so quiet you can almost hear the distant sound of frat boys falling down stairs. 

One plus to being able to walk home alone was the chance to think. Varian sorted through his mental schedule as he turned a corner and stared at the ground. Luckily the next day was Friday so he had a least the weekend to complete his half of the project and finish it, assuming his classmate doesn’t fuck it up for the both of them. If he got everything done by Sunday he could see Eugene and Rapunzel before they head out of town.   
His thoughts were interrupted by a second pair of footsteps sounding out behind him. Varian tensed and gripped the blade tighter. By the sound of it, the person had to be about 10 feet behind him and going the same pace as him. Hopefully, it was just another student getting home like he was, but he doubted it. They wouldn’t have come out of nowhere and they sure as hell wouldn’t be wandering around at 11:30. 

A voice rang out, “Where are you goin pretty boy?”

Varian rolled his eyes and didn’t respond besides walking a bit faster. 

“I’m just trying to make conversation. It’s gotta be pretty lonely walking alone this late right?” Sadly the guy didn’t know how to take a hint and seemed to match his pace again. 

Despite being mainly annoyed, Varian was starting to panic. He couldn’t head to his dorm, lest this perv follows him there. His next bet would probably be Eugene and Rapunzel’s place but that was literally across town, as his dad’s house was. Nuru’s isn’t an option because he doesn’t need to bring this guy to her place either. He could go to Hugo’s. That could work, provided his roommate is at his girlfriend’s again.   
Varian took another right and tried his best to ignore the voice behind him, but that was proving to be harder by the second. Right as he was about the snap and yell at the guy to leave him alone, his arm was yanked back and he felt himself stumble. When had he gotten so close?

“C’mon baby I’m not gonna hurt you-” Varian didn’t let him continue with whatever else he had to say. Instead, he whipped around, flicked the switchblade open, and stabbed it into the man’s forearm. He quickly pulled it out and sprinted, trying to put as much space between him and the curses behind him. 

The cold air made it easier to run, he noticed. He tried to focus on how it flew past him as he ran and how every breath felt like sucking in ice. The blood and air rushing in his air made it hard to tell if he had actually gotten away from the man but he kept running anyway. Lucky enough for him, Hugo’s dorm wasn’t too far away and was close to his own dorm. 

He slowed his run down to a jog and eventually stopped, leaning against the side of a building. Closing his eyes, Varian ran a hand through his hair and tried to regain his breath. Adrenaline was the only thing (besides his fight or flight instinct) keeping him from collapsing onto the concrete. The night went back to being silent, which was a welcome change, so he could process his thoughts.   
Varian had just stabbed a man. A man who was following him in the middle of the night. A man who had clearly known he was going to be walking home tonight. What the hell?

Hugo:

Hugo yanked his hand away from the kettle. You’d think he would grab some kind of towel so he wouldn’t burn his hand but no. He groaned before grabbing a worn pot holder on his counter and pouring out the water into a random mug. Currently, he had to finish a paper for his economics class, a slideshow for his engineering class, and write a thesis for liberal arts. Seeing as his coffee supply was running low and he ran out of Redbull two nights ago, he was resorting to whatever caffeinated leaf water he had in his cabinet. 

The laptop resting on the table chimed. Hugo grabbed the mug and walked over to check what warranted the chime this time. Turns out it was a notification that one of his many assignments was officially late; which was exactly what he needed this night. Being a janitor didn’t sound too horrible of a job anymore. 

Before he got the chance to lament a wasted tuition, a few knocks sounded at the door. 

“I swear to god if I have to drag David to his bed again I’m kicking him out,” Hugo mumbled. 

But it was not a drunk roommate at the door. Instead, it was a very frazzled looking Varian who was currently leaning against the doorframe seemingly out of breath. 

He looked up at Hugo and smiled, “mind if I stay the night?”

“Yes but not enough to slam the door in your face.” He opened the door to let his friend in, still mildly confused. 

“Gee thanks.” 

Varian walked in and quickly fell face-first into the couch. Rolling his eyes, Hugo closed the door and went back to his laptop and tea. He focused back on his late assignment and waited for Varian to offer some kind of explanation. 

After about 5 minutes, he finally did. 

“Sorry to randomly show up, it was an emergency.” He rolled off the couch and sat next to Hugo, resting his head on the table.

“What happened this time?”

“You say that like you haven’t done the same thing.” 

Hugo closed his laptop, he could finish that bullshit in the morning. Right now he was much more interested in what the “emergency” was that justified getting an impromptu guest. A welcome guest, but it was also the middle of the night and he needed to work. 

“Didn’t answer the question hairstripe.” He got an eye-roll for that one.

“Fuck off. I just need to crash here for the night and I’ll be out of your hobbit hole tomorrow morning.”

“Wow how creative. And you have yet to tell me why.”

Varian slumped against the chair and sighed. His expression darkened slightly, not really the reaction Hugo was expecting. 

“To make a long story short, a creep followed me, I stabbed him, and I didn’t want him to know where I live. I’ll be gone by tomorrow so don’t worry, I won’t bother you for that long.”

Of course some asshole had to follow him. Hugo was trying to decide if him being followed was more concerning then the stabbing part and so far it was leaning more towards the first option. 

“Not what I was expecting but ok. Did something warrant him getting stabbed or was that just a fun idea you had?” He didn’t want to admit he was worried.

“He grabbed my arm so yknow, instincts I guess.”

To say he wasn’t surprised to receive an actual answer and not some smart-ass remark would be a lie. What was Varian even doing walking home at 12:00? 

“Ok then. Well you’re welcome to crash in David’s room, he’s probably getting laid again.”

“Didn’t need to know but thanks.” Varian stood up and walked towards the bedrooms before turning around and smiling, “For real though, thank you.”

“Anytime…” Yeah, he was definitely concerned.


	2. Nothing changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (The title is a song from Hadestown please listen to it their voices are amazing)
> 
> Life continues on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'm going to attempt to make this chapter longer because I felt like I didn't put in enough on the first one so just a heads up.

Hugo:

Waking up with less than 6 hours of sleep was nothing new for Hugo, or for any college student really. But that didn’t make it any more enjoyable. Not only did he have to stay up working on 10 different assignments (an exaggeration) but he also had to spend 30 minutes being utterly confused and concerned about Varian. 

Who, speak of the devil, was trudging into the kitchen currently. Hugo looked up from his phone and was greeted with a very drowsy looking friend who looked like a mess.  
“A cute mess though,” he thought. 

Varian sat down on a chair and slammed his head into the table, as one does in the morning.

“Good morning to you too.” He looked back at his phone.

“Mornin.”

“Does your kind eat breakfast or do you prefer to starve until lunch?” The punch he received was well deserved, a little extreme, but deserved. He set his phone down and looked at the other boy. 

“Depends on what type of cereal you have,” Varian rolled his head over to face Hugo. “Otherwise no, we don’t.”

He stood up and walked over to one of the cupboards. Most cereals were too sugary for his taste but he had a few common ones. While grabbing a bowl and spoon, he glanced back to see his friend sitting up and staring at his phone.

“Shit.”

Hugo set the food down, “what now?”

“My dad called me like 5 times last night. Shit. Shit! God, he’s probably pissed!” Varian lept out of the chair and walked towards the hall. He heard the sound of a phone dialing and shrugged. Not really his problem. 

The conversation in the hallway was short, surprisingly. After taking a deep breath, Hugo saw him turn around.

“So, how’s your dad?” Varian let out a small laugh, though it sounded more like a sigh than a laugh. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down again.

“He was definitely pissed. Though he was more concerned I think. I totally forgot he was dropping off Ruddiger last night so he was waiting for a few hours at my dorm.”

“Why did your dad have your trash cat?” 

Ignoring his insult, Varian answered him. “I knew I’d be gone for most the day and Ruddiger’s been clingy. Next time I’m dumping him here just to spite you.”

Hugo glared at him, “don’t you dare.”

He got a laugh in response. The two shifted into a comfortable silence, only filled by the sound of clanking and small dings from one of their phones. While Hugo enjoyed their bicker, he relished these moments (nothing he would admit out loud of course).

Varian:

After finishing his breakfast and saying goodbye to Hugo, Varian rushed to his dorm. Luckily his dad wasn’t too mad that he hadn’t been at home, especially after he gave a short summary on why he wasn’t there, so his main concern was if Ruddiger had gotten into any of the food. Which was very likely.

The sun burned on his skin as he jogged across the small clearing between his and Hugo’s dorm building. The heat was a nice opposition to the last few cold, cloudy days. Though even with the comforting warmth around him and the rare serenity of the campus, Varian still had trouble completely relaxing, the events of the night still vivid in his mind.

Questions ran through his head. Like how did the man randomly show up at the precise moment that Varian was heading home? Or why was he so persistent? He was used to the unsolicited comments here and there, sadly more common when he was walking around with Nuru, but no one had ever blatantly followed him. The whole experience was unnerving. 

He still didn’t regret stabbing the bastard though.

Once, he finally reached his dorm, Varian quickly slammed the door shut and laid on the couch. A small weight landed on his chest and he opened his eyes to Ruddiger staring at him, almost accusingly. 

“Hey buddy,” Varian sat up and picked the raccoon up. “Sorry I had to leave you with dad yesterday, I had school.” 

The animal chittered a few times before curling up in his lap. 

“Glad to see your not holding it against me.” It was completely normal to talk to an animal. Everyone does it. Rapunzel talks to Pascal all the time! It is not weird at all. 

Varian grabbed his phone and scrolled through his texts. Two from Rapunzel, one from Nuru, one from Cass (surprising), and one from Hugo. He read the messages until he got to Hugo’s which was just a photo of the dishes he used to eat cereal with a caption saying “im always picking up ur shit”. He snorted and tossed his phone to his side. 

Sighing, he closed his eyes and rested.

\--an hour later--

Varian groggily opened his eyes and looked around to find the source of whatever woke him up. It turned out to be his phone ringing.

“Figures.” He grabbed it and looked at the contact. Rapunzel. 

“Hey, Rapunzel.”

“Varian! Hi! Are you still going to come over for lunch today or are you busy?”

Oh shit, it was Friday. “Yeah yeah, I’ll be there. Um...What time did we agree on?”

He heard a laugh from the other line and smiled sheepishly. 

“6. OH!” Varian flinched and help the phone a little farther from his ear, leave it to her to burst his eardrums. “Cass is in town for a few nights. She’s coming today as well.”

So that’s why she texted him, makes sense. “Alright, I’ll see you guys at 6 then.”

“See you then! Love you bye!”

“Love you too, bye.” 

Ruddiger chittered from his perch on his shoulders, which he moved to when Varian woke up. He absentmindedly rand a hand through the raccoon’s fur as he stood up. 

After spending over 24 hours in these clothes, without a shower mind you, he quickly walked into his room to get changed. 

Varian was lucky enough to not have a roommate. When he first moved in there were two seniors here but when the school year ended they moved out, leaving him with the entire dorm to himself. Tragic right? For some reason though the school never moved someone in as a replacement. Though he was not about to bring it up to the board.

The clock on his bedside table read 12:43, so he should probably leave soon. It took a little under 30 minutes to get to Rapunzel’s house, though if the tourists decided to enjoy the sunny day (which they most likely have) it could take longer. 

He decided black jeans, a teal shirt, and the closest flannel overshirt he could find would be a good enough outfit. After a short debate, he left his headphones and threw on his shoes. Ruddiger whined as he opened the door to leave again. 

“I’m sorry bud but I don’t think I can sneak you in again. The security almost threw me out last time and I don’t need that again.”

This only promoted the animal to whine more and now add clawing at his jeans to the act. Varian laughed and picked him up. Ruddiger nuzzled into his collar and he had to resist the urge to squeal. 

“Ok ok. If you’re good, and I mean really good, maybe I can convince Rapunzel to tell the guards to leave us alone.”

He got a happy chitter and a few licks in response. Closing the door, he grabbed his keys and headed to his car. 

Traffic was just a bad as he predicted. Because the world hated him. It seemed worse than he thought it would be though. Apparently ever white suburban mom decided to have brunch today and none of them knew how to drive. By the time he got to Rapunzel and Eugene’s apartment complex, he was a good 20 minutes late. 

The building was around 15 stories high and known to be one of the priciest apartment buildings in town. Being the governer’s daughter granted Rapunzel the option to live on the top floor. Which made for nice lunches and dinners on their patio. She had originally been given the chance to live at a much larger house closer to the capital building but she wanted her own space with her fiance. At least that’s what she told Varian. He still didn’t understand the choice but whatever, just made it easier for him to meet up with them. 

As he walked up to the front doors, he recognized Cassandra’s bike near the entrance. Good to know he showed up after the “world-class traveler” who was known for being fashionably late. 

Though it did seem like the regular security as on lunch break, which means he didn’t have to get Raps down here to bail him out for bringing Ruddiger. He waved at the receptionists, who didn’t seem to even notice him, and walked into the elevator. Varian pressed the button to bring him up to her floor before setting his pet on the floor. 

When the door opened he quickly walked towards the address he knew by heart. Without missing a beat, he knocked on the door and smiled as he heard commotion one the other side of it. A few voices rang out before the door swung open. He didn’t have a chance to say anything before he was nearly tackled in a hug.

“Hi ‘Punzel.” His voice was slightly muffled by her shoulder. 

“I’m pretty sure he needs to breathe Sunshine.” Eugene walked over and grinned. Varian did his best to return the smile but was still blocked by the brunette. 

After a moment, Rapunzel finally let go and smiled at him. 

“It’s so nice to see you! Come in, Cass and Lance are on the patio.” He leaned down and scooped Ruddiger up, just in case. 

Eugene pulled him in for a side hug, “So kid, almost dead yet?”

“Ha no. Though I’m getting close.”

They walked through the living room before they came up to the open glass doors, where the other three were waiting for them. Rapunzel was ranting about whatever topic she was passionate about this week, Cass seemed to be slightly dazed as she listed, and Lance...was shoveling food in his mouth. So nothing new. 

The first one to even notice Varian and Eugene in the doorway was Lance, who promptly tried to say something only to choke on his food. 

“And here we have a shining example of Corona’s best everyone.” Varian snorted as Eugene moved to make sure his friend didn’t die. 

Cass turned towards the trio and laughed before standing up. 

“How’ve you been V?” She pulled him into a tight hug and grabbed Ruddiger from his arms, who happily hopped into hers. 

“Fine. Exhausted, but fine. How’s exploring the world going? Get shot at yet?” 

She laughed and sat back down. “Only a few times, though no one can aim apparently.”

“Cass no,” Rapunzel glared at them before smiling. “Let’s not hope for them to improve please?”

Eugene finally joined the three of them, seeing as Lance stopped choking. 

“Yeah, I’m not traveling to some dry-ass country to pick you up from a hospital.”

“Yes, we will.” Giving a pointed look at her fiance, Rapunzel grabbed a plate and handed it to Varian. “Anyway, go ahead and grab whatever you want!”

He filled his plate with whatever he could find, she did say he wanted, and listened to the conversations behind him. It was always nice to have these visits, they were always something that calmed and centered him. His friends had a way of doing that. 

Time passed by quickly as five of them filled the air with laughter and chatter. Eventually, Cass had to leave for some work-related reason. They all said their goodbyes, Varian the last to do so.

“Keep in touch kid.” She pulled away and rested one hand on his shoulder. 

“I will.”

Rapunzel walked her out as Lance announced he was heading home as well.

“What, you have something better to do,” replied Eugene, leaning back in his chair.

“As a matter of fact I do. Keira and Catalina are finishing up softball practice and I, as their sacrificing caregiver, am getting ice cream for them.” Both boys rolled their eyes simultaneously before Varian stood up. 

“Well tell them I said hi, your humble majesty.” He bowed slightly and laughed when he felt a grape hit his face. 

Lance said goodbye to them, leaving the usual three alone. Varian was usually last to leave unless his dad needed him for something or he remembered one of his assignments was late (which was more often then he’d like to admit). 

With his stomach feeling full and the heat of the afternoon covering him, Varian slowly began to nod off. He eventually fell asleep against Rapunzel’s shoulder with Ruddiger laying in his lap again. The day’s worries were slowly replaced by the moment’s peacefulness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruddiger is a raccoon because c'mon, a cat doesn't do him justice. He is a trash panda and no one can convince me otherwise. Also Pascal is still a chameleon because I have a soft spot for reptiles. Sorry for the lack of Varigo content in this one, I'll be adding more to the next chapter (plus more drama).
> 
> I loved reading your guys' comments yesterday! It honestly made my day so thank you :)
> 
> Stay safe!


	3. Kindly f*ck off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An everyday trip to the library is thrown off track by an unfortunate face. 
> 
> "We haven't met fully yet." "Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatup everyone. 
> 
> I don't have much to say for this one. Have fun reading gay stuff!

Varian:

For being known as the "Sunshine State", Corona has a large quantity of cloudy/rainy days. The weather stayed cloudy maybe 2/3 of the year, the small percentage of sunny days is when the state was bombarded with tourists. Today was not one of those days though. Instead, it was rotating between sprinkling peacefully, staying a dreary grey, and pouring half an ocean from the clouds. 

It was currently 9:30 and Varian was already drenched from just walking from his dorm to Hugo's. Every other Tuesday, the two boys would meet up with Nuru at the campus library for a two-hour study session. Usually, he would swing by Hugo's dorm first so they could walk together, but it seemed as if the other man was deciding to take 30 minutes to get dressed. Varian tended to wait inside the lobby to avoid the exact thing pouring outside. 

The elevator to his left finally dinged and opened. He sighed with relief and stood up from where he was sitting. 

"Jesus, you take longer than Eugene does, and he has 20 different steps to his stupid skin shit."

Hugo rolled his eyes and shrugged on his jacket, "For the record, I was not taking forever to get ready-"

"I beg to differ."

He smirked at the glare he received. 

"Thank you for the interruption varitas. As I was saying, I was not getting ready, I just forgot to wake up."

Now it was his turn to glare. "And how is that any better?"

"Oh it isn't. I just don't care."

"Well, I'm not the one who Nuru is gonna be pissed at so good luck." Hugo's smile dropped.

"Shit." Varian laughed as he pushed the lobby door open.

The two continued their usual banter as they walked to the library. The sky had decided to be merciful to them and was only lightly drizzling. Because Varian was a child, he jumped in every puddle he could find. Eventually Hugo joined in as well, though it was mainly to splash his friend. They finally settled down when they approached the library doors. 

Hugo held the door open and bowed. "After you m' lady." 

"Why thank you." They looked around the area trying to spot their friend. The library was fairly large, the shelves of books reaching at least 15 feet and covering most of the space. In the few clear spaces sat multiple tables, which other students crowded around. Towards the back of the building three rows of older computers, already plugged in and set up, were free to use for anything student who needed to (though it was rare to see anyone sitting there). Most students came to the library to do any extra research or homework that they couldn't do at their dorms for whatever reason, so most of the time it was crowded. 

Whenever Varian and his friends met up here to study it would usually take them a few minutes to find a free table. From what he could see, it seemed like there were significantly fewer people who had the same idea. 

He walked further in and glanced towards the tables. All of them were either empty or had a group of people at them. Right as he was about to turn to Hugo to ask if he had seen Nuru anywhere, he felt his arm get yanked (again) and he stumbled. Someone caught him before he could hit the floor and he looked up to see two faces. Nuru was standing to his left, glaring at him, and Hugo, who was the one who caught him. 

"Was that completely necessary?" Varian asked as Hugo helped him stand back up. 

Her glare didn't lessen as the two boys sat at the table she has claimed. "You two were 30 minutes late. And neither of you texted me."

He rolled his eyes, "You can thank him for that."

"Snitching on me after I save your life. That's low Varian." 

Nuru sighed and sat down as well. 

"Just let me know next time. I expected more from you Varian, not you Hugo, but Varian c'mon." 

Varian laughed while Hugo glared at the smirking girl. 

"Well sorry I haven't reached your expectations, your highness." He snapped, making Nuru only smile more.

"Not my fault you don't know how to use a fucking alarm clock. I'm assuming you slept in right?"

"Not all of us have our life sorted to the minute."

Before they could escalate the argument any further, Varian piped up. "Are we going to study or should I start filming you two?"

Both of them gave the other a look before grabbing their supplies. The trio fell into silence, only broken by the occasional question and answer. It was common for the three of them to be working on their own independent work but they all benefited from having the second opinions. Because of their busy schedules though, this was the most amount of time they spent with each other on a weekly basis. Varian was usually busy doing his work or seeing his family, Hugo was almost always occupied on whatever project his adoptive mom had him working on, and Nuru had thousands of different responsibilities she had to focus on. With each of their personal schedules conflicting so often, it was difficult to find a day that worked. Eventually though, they all collectively said fuck it and made it routine to meet up. 

The shrill sound of a timer rang out. Nuru grabbed her phone and quickly silenced it, trying to avoid disturbing the other people around them. 

"That's time," she sighed.

Varian let out a small groan, "C'mon I barely got anything done."

"Who's fault is that?" 

"The timer's."

Hugo snorted as he put away his things. "You're such a 5 year old."

"And you aren't?"

"Nope!" Both Varian and Nuru gave him a look.

They each stood up and walked towards the door. Sadly, the rain hadn't lessened over the two hours they spent in the library. Meaning he and Hugo had to walk home in this, and he didn't bring an umbrella. Yay.

Nuru reached into her bag and pulled out a light purple umbrella. Because of course she brought one and he didn't.

"Well, I'll see you two in a few weeks." She smiled before hugging Varian, "Don't catch anything on your way back and be careful."

He pulled away and returned her smile, "I'll be fine, besides I have Hugo. He can just carry me if I almost die." 

"Yeah no, I'm not gonna do that." Hugo leaned against the building and crossed his arms. 

"Wow I see how much I mean to you."

"Took you long enough."

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Nuru. "Ugh, as much as I'd love to stay here and watch you two flirt, I have places to be."

She waved goodbye and left the two alone. Varian felt his face heat up slightly and he tightened his grip on his backpack. Hugo's face was a similar color when he turned to face him.

"Um. So, h-home?" Inside his mind, he smacked himself for stuttering. It was just a stupid joke, he shouldn't be flustered. Really Varian, chill. 

His friend nodded and turned on his heel, walking forward. They got maybe 10 feet away from the doors before Hugo stopped walking. 

"Shit I left my calculator." He rolled his eyes as the other man quickly backtracked.

"Hurry up then." 

Varian walked back to the small overhang above the doors and leaned against the wall. He pulled his phone out and scrolled through his news feed. 

"Varian!"

Whatever was on his phone was suddenly very uninteresting as he looked up to see a man jogging towards him. Before he got the chance to ask who the man was, he recognized him. All of a sudden his throat closed up and he felt his heart beat a lot faster.

The man, now under the overhang as well, smiling at him was the same person that followed him the other night. And he knew his name. 

"I thought I would find you here."

Hugo (*get rekt readers*):

A lost calculator was a pretty lame excuse to try and calm a gay panic but it worked for Hugo. Now he didn't lie about forgetting his calculator but he also had like 15 back at his dorm, so it wasn't that crucial. His thoughts ran a mile a minute as he searched the ground. It was pretty clear Hugo had found Varian attractive for some time now but he wrongly assumed he did a pretty good job at keeping it at bay. Nuru annoying him wasn't anything new but that one? That was definitely new. He sighed as he grabbed his calculator, which had fallen off the table. Hopefully, the awkward tension between him and Varian had dissolved by the time he got outside. 

When he walked out the doors though, tension quickly became the last thing on Hugo's list of things to worry about. First he saw Varian standing a few feet away from the door, then he saw someone he did not know. The random stranger was currently talking to his friend, who looked very VERY uncomfortable, and hadn't even noticed Hugo standing there. 

"So I mean whenever works for you darling, though I believe you're free later today correct?"

Varian's eyes widen for a second before he quickly schooled his expression to one of pure destain, one Hugo was on the receiving end of only once (not a fun memory). He also didn't seem to realize Hugo was watching the interaction. 

Maybe now was time to announce that. 

"Excuse me?"

Both men turned towards him. In the corner of his vision, he could see Varian's look of relief but he focused on the stranger in front of him. 

"Might I ask what you need from my friend?"

The man narrowed his eyes slightly. "That would be between him and me."

Hugo rolled his eyes and he took a few steps over to Varian, subtly placing himself between the man and his friend. 

"Yeah well now I'll be intervening, so thank you for your time and kindly fuck off." 

Before he could drag his friend away, the man directed his gaze towards him. The look on his face made Hugo want to gag.

"I'll see you around lovely." 

"Get lost."

The man smiled and walked away. Varian decided to do what Hugo was planning before and grabbed his hand, dragging him along as he stormed away. They walked in silence for the second time that day. After a few minutes Varian let go of his hand, much to his disappointment. 

"Was that the guy?"

All he got in reply was a nod, though that was enough confirmation to make Hugo immediately want to turn around and punch the guy. He was suddenly feeling very jealous that Varian had the chance to stab him. Though he wanted to press for more details on what the creep said or what he knew, he acknowledged that the other man was most likely not in the talking mood. So instead he let the silence continue as they walked. Every so often he would glance over to try and guess what his friend was feeling; every time he would see a glare on his face. Probably anger then, lots of anger. They came up to Hugo's dorm building, making both of them stop and turn to the other.

"So um..." Varian cleared his throat before finally meeting his gaze, "sorry about...w-well that. I didn't, I mean I thought..." 

"It's fine Varian. You don't have to apologize."

His friend smiled at him, making Hugo's chest tighten. "Thanks. Anyways, I should...see you soon?"

"Yeah sure. You sure you don't want me to walk you to your place?" God he sounded so cringy right now. Varian lives not even 5 minutes away, he'll be fine. 

"I'll be alright, thanks though." 

Stupid. Of course he will be, duh. 

He nodded, "right. Well I'll see you this Friday."

"Oh yeah! Ha, I forgot. See you Friday." Varian pulled him into a hug. He froze for a second before returning it.

The other pulled away and smiled again. "Bye Hugo."

He waved and watched his friend walked away before turning to go inside. The second he walked through the doors he slammed his head against the nearest wall.

"Dumbass."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "...and kindly fuck off." HE SAID IT! HE SAID THE TITLE! 
> 
> Lol, hope you guys liked this one. I thought "hey I need to make this gay but I also need to keep the chapter plot-relevant. Hmmm which will I do...HOW ABOUT BOTH?!?" and thus this was born. 
> 
> The next few chapters might be late but honestly idk. Thanks again for the support and fun comments, I always love reading them.


	4. Not a chapter (sorry)

Hey so sorry this chapter is late!

I kinda hit a roadblock on this one and my motivation was pretty low yesterday. I'm going to try and get the chapter out tonight but fair warning it might be short (and in my opinion pretty shitty). Plus the next one isn't hugely plot-relevant so I'm trying to alter what I can so that it actually makes sense. 

Sorry again for the wait guys! I'll get the chapter out soon I promise.


	5. We're here, whether you want us or not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian sorts through his thoughts while his family plans a murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry for this being late!
> 
> This chapter isn't super plot relevant but it does have a few things that might be worth noting. Also, this one doesn't have much gay since Hugo isn't really present. Sorry guys :(

Varian:

Emotions were confusing, as were thoughts. Which is why the walk back from the library was such a blur for Varian. Sadly most of his interaction with weirdo back there was pretty vivid, but after he dragged Hugo away his brain more or less shut down. The only coherent thoughts he could make out were a few repeating questions. For example, how in the hell did that guy know his name? And did he just happen to spot him at the library or did he know? Why did he guess that Varian was free that afternoon? More importantly, how was he right? None of it made sense and it was driving him insane. Fighting off a creep was one thing but having the same one shows up a few days later and finding out he knew his name? That is much more alarming. 

With these different questions and feelings running around in his head, he didn't notice that they had reached the dorm building until Hugo stopped. He glanced at the door before turning towards his friend. 

"So um..." Just say something Varian jesus, "sorry about...w-well that. I didn't, I mean I thought..." Well not that.

"It's fine Varian. You don't have to apologize." 

"Thanks. Anyways, I should...see you soon?" 

"Yeah sure. You sure you don't want me to walk you to your place?" Of course he was offering to walk him home, because he's amazing. Most of the time. 

"I'll be alright, thanks though."

"Right. Well I'll see you this Friday."

"Oh yeah! Ha, I forgot. See you Friday." Without letting himself overthink it, Varian pulled his friend into a tight hug. After a few moments, he pulled away, "bye Hugo."

He started walking back to his own dorm, a slight smile still on his face. Ignoring the obvious issue, his day wasn't too bad. He'd have all the time in the world to worry about that creep but right now he wanted to keep that peaceful feeling. It was one of those rare feelings one gets and makes you want to do everything in your power to keep it, wanting to bottle it up and stay feeling that way forever. 

Eventually, though everything good must end. And that's exactly what happened when Varian's phone buzzed in his pocket. Sighing, he pulled it from his pocket and checked. The text was just a photo, from an unknown number. He frowned and put it away, he'd look into it when he was actually home. 

Right as he walked through the building door it started to pour again outside. Good timing on his part. As he stepped into the elevator he pulled out his phone again. The photo was slightly blurry but he was at least able to make out the main focus of it. In the middle of the photo, there was a set of windows and through them you could see a few people, mainly the back of heads though. From what Varian could tell, it was a classroom. Actually, after zooming in slightly, it was a picture of his Medical Biology class. 

"What the hell?" He muttered. The elevator doors opened with a ding and he stepped through, not looking up from the photo. His sight didn't leave the screen as he unlocked his door and scooped up Ruddiger, who was chattering loudly. Without taking off his raincoat, he sat down on the couched and further examined the picture. Whoever took it has a really low-quality camera. That does bring up a good question though, who did take this photo. Also why did they send it to him? A picture of his med bio class didn't really make for a good conversation starter anyway.

Although the more Varian thought about it, there was someone he could guess would randomly take a picture of his class. The only person who would randomly send something like this to him would be the same weirdo who somehow knew his name. And now his phone number.

"Shit Ruddiger. This is really weird." The raccoon looked at him before hopping off his shoulders and onto the couch next to him. Varian put the phone down and looked the animal in the eyes. "Really, really weird. Kind of scary too."

He grabbed the phone again and stood up. A sense of dread slowly made its way into his head. His hands were shaking slightly so he took and deep breath and tried to calm himself. Panicking never led to anything good. Ruddiger chirped beside him as he paced the kitchen, sorting through his thoughts and trying to find an answer to his own questions. Varian prided himself on being logical. While sometimes panic got the best of him, he was a quick thinker and was normally able to use logic to calm himself. Sadly he tended to have a one-track mind so if he was focused on one thing, he would ignore everything else. Right now that was useful though, seeing as he needed to focus. 

"Ok bud. Let's see what we know, " he ranted out loud, knowing the animal was listening." So he knows my name, weird but ok. He might know my number? No no he does, who else would- I'm getting off-topic. Anyway, he knows I would be at the library I think. Seeing as creepo knew I didn't have anything today, there's no way it was a "coincident"."

As he talked, Varian gestured around to enunciate his words. Ruddiger watched from his perch on the counter, listening intently. A soft buzz interrupted his rant. Taking another breath, he grabbed his phone from next to his pet and looked at the contact. It was his dad. He smiled and clicked on the text.

'Dad: Your aunt is here for the night. Please come for dinner if you can. Love you, Dad.'

He typed out a response and looked at Ruddiger. 

"It's probably fine." Had he not lived with Ruddiger for over 5 years now, he would have been surprised to see the animal mimic rolling his eyes. Varian laughed and pet his head. "Don't worry bud, we'll figure it out."

Right now, however, he had some family to visit.

\--45 minutes later--

He really didn't have room to talk about Rapunzel's apartment. His childhood home was definitely more pricey than others. Even with the nicer landscaping and two stories, his dad still chose a more humble look. Though if it was up to Varian, he probably would have gone all out. If you're going to choose a nice home, don't try and make it look like you didn't have more money to spend on it. Either spend the money or give it to someone else. 

In hindsight, it was probably best he didn't have random money to spend at a whim. He'd probably blow it out on something completely mundane and unnecessary. His logic didn't expand to budgeting apparently. 

Varian opened the door, knowing his dad wouldn't care if he knocked or not, and looked inside.

"DAD! I'm here."

"I can see that Varian." He yelped and turned towards his dad, who was setting out plates and smiling. 

Letting out a small laugh, he walked over. His dad set the plates down and pulled him into a hug.

"It's nice to see you son."

"It's nice to see you too dad. Where's Aunt Adira did she leave for-"

"Right over here nephew." 

"Can you two stop popping out of nowhere?! I'm gonna have a heart attack," he complained. Adira tended to do that but twice in one night from two different people was going to kill him. His irritation only amused them though, much to his annoyance. Eventually, he joined in with their laughter.

The three settled down and sat around the table, loading their plates with food. 

"So, how's classes going?"

"Oh, they're fine." He shrugged, "I most of my big assignments down so it's been pretty mellow lately."

His dad nodded, "That's good. What were you working on?"

"Well in one of my classes we were working on how different energy sources react to the environment around it. A friend of mine and I chose to focus on nuclear energy." Varian paused before he got into his rant to eat something, lest his entire dinner goes cold by the time he's done. "It's actually really interesting how fision works. From what we could see from other countries, as long as you temper the use and keep the waste down it's pretty efficient. The way they normally keep it cool is by a ridiculous amount of water but the process really cool! When the water hits the nuclear waste it usually takes the components that-"

"Varian?" Adira stopped him, looking amused. He smiled sheepishly and went back to his food. 

"Sorry. Anyways it's really cool."

"I wasn't stopping you, I thought you'd want to know your phone is about to fall off the table. You're getting texts."

"Oh! Thanks." His aunt nodded and he picked up the phone. She was definitely right, he was indeed getting texts. The problem was who they were from though. The same unknown (not really unknown anymore) number from before had texted another photo, this time with a caption at least. The picture was of the front of this house and his car parked out front. He paled looking at it. Without noticing, his hands started to shake again as he read over the text after. 

'Unknown Number: Fancy seeing you around here. Unexpected but a thrill none the less.' 

Oh god. He's outside. That creep is outside his childhood home right not. How did he recognize his car? What the hell did he mean unexpected?

"Varian? Are you alright?" 

Shakily, he put the phone down and looked at his dad.

"Yeah yeah just um...something came up." Was the guy still out there? Could he leave tonight at all?

"What is the matter nephew?" His dad gave Adira a look, to which the woman rolled her eyes at. "If something is wrong we should know. So?"

Their attention turned back to the nervous boy as he debated how to tell them he had a potential stalked outside. No matter what he said it wouldn't change that he might have to stay the night and miss his morning classes tomorrow. Plus what would be the use of making them worry, he had kept himself safe this whole time and he doesn't need to make them worry about him. His aunt would most likely try to go outside to find the guy anyway if he told her, though he wasn't 100% averse to that. Sighing he looked back up at their expectant faces.

"So I've had a small issue. It's nothing huge so there is no reason for anyone to do anything so it's ok." His dad gave him a doubtful look. "Anyways, heh, I had...there's this guy...someone's been following me." Both adults looked shocked before their expressions quickly formed into something different. His dad's expression looked pissed, Adira's matching only a little more murderous. 

"Who." Varian flinched slightly at her tone.

"I don't- I don't know."

Beside him, his dad sighed. "When have you seen this man following you?"

Ah, yeah, that was expected. "Well once last week, though I kinda...maybe stabbed him?" He laughed nervously while Adira's face changed from anger to pride. She smirked and looked at his dad, who looked very neutral. 

"I knew the knife was a good gift. Again, I was right."

"You nearly bought him a gun Adira. the knife was a compromise." She shrugged and looked back at Varian. "Continue son."

He cleared his throat, "I saw him once after at the library when I was with Hugo, he was really following me. He was just...there. And now he texted me a picture, well two and a text but yeah."

"The photos were of my med bio class and now there's one of out front."

The older man raised an eyebrow, "outside of the house?"

Nodding, he handed his phone over to his dad and sat back. A few moments passed as his dad looked at the screen and Adira peeked at it, both of their expression growing darker each second. This was about what he expected to happen though. His dad was always protective of him, fretting over the smallest cold or injury. Adira was similar but cared less about the small stuff, in fact, there were multiple occasions where she set his dad off on a rant because she was "training" him. The training consisted of Varian getting every possible injury during a sparring session and his aunt only relenting when he was on the brink of passing out. Though, with his current predicament, it was probably pretty useful. 

Finally, his dad handing the phone back and sighed. 

"Because this doesn't seem like it will stop without intervention, I would like you to avoid walking alone around campus and town."

"Dad I can handle myself."

"I get that Varian, but it would be safer for you to be accompanied by a friend. You should tell your friends Rapunzel and Eugene about this and ask if they could help."

He tried to say a rebuttal but was cut off by his dad. "It's safer. For your own good son, please let them know."

Sighing again, he nodded. "Ok. I will."

"Thank you." 

They continued to eat dinner, a slight damper on whatever conversation they attempted before it was time for Varian to leave. It had been nearly an hour since he had received the texts so they all thought it would be safe for him to leave alone. His dad still insisted he check the backseat and surrounding area. After he was given the all-clear, Varian hugged his family goodbye.

"Be safe son, I'll file a report at the office as soon as we get more details ok?" He smiled and nodded.

Adira moved to hug him, "I still have that 19-11 ready whenever you need it."

"Adira no."

Laughing, he hugged her back. 

As he got in his car and started the drive home he thought about what he was told to do. It was going to be a tense conversation with Rapunzel and Eugene. God forbid Cass finds out. The couple alone was terrifying when they were angry but Cass was as bad as his aunt. Overall, he suspected it would be interesting to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell how little inspiration I had for the beginning? Lol repeating a conversation from a different perspective made more sense in my head. 
> 
> Did you also see how extensive my knowledge of nuclear energy is? Because its slightly concerning to my family
> 
> Personally, this was absolute sh*t. Sorry again for the lateness and overall poor quality, I promise it'll get better.


	6. Excuse me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explaining to his friends that he has a stalker goes about how Varian thought it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the amazing comments! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter. 
> 
> This one has more gay for you guys, as well as more protective Raps and Eugene. Enjoy!

Varian:

"Wait he what?!"

Varian glared, "If you let me continue, I can answer that Fitzherbert." His friend rolled his eyes but didn't reply. "Thank you. As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, while as I was at dinner I got another photo, one of outside my dad's house."

He paused to show them the text thread on his phone. Following his dad's advice, he went straight to Rapunzel and Eugene's place to inform about the events prior. They had been reasonably angry, maybe a little more than necessary in his opinion, and had demanded to know every little detail. While he explained everything they're expressions quickly mirrored his dad's and aunts the night before, hell even Pascal looked mad. Rapunzel had yet to contribute any type of reply to the information but Eugene did not follow in her steps, voicing every angry thought and concerned question. By the time Varian had gotten to the disturbing texts, both of them looked rather pissed. 

"I haven't replied because who would that benefit but I don't know if should just block him or ignore it."

Rapunzel handed the phone back and glared at the wall. 

"Personally kid, I'd say block him. I mean with a prison bars works but guess we can settle for over text." He nodded and looked at the phone. There hadn't been any more texts recently but he didn't want to risk it. 

"No. That wouldn't work Eugene." Both men looked over at Rapunzel, who was actually talking for the first time since Varian brought up the predicament. "He would just find another way to contact you, Varian. Which means he'd be looking for more information about you and we don't need him knowing anything else."

"He already knows my daily schedule so I don't see what more he could find out." He muttered.

Her face switched from a slightly deflated look back to its previous scowl, making Varian internally flinch. Being on the receiving end of that look was usually terrifying, he would know sadly. They sat contemplating what the next best decision is. He had already mentioned how his dad wanted one of them to pick him up more often or at least make sure he wasn't walking home alone and they had both readily agreed. Eugene had also brought up filing a report back at the precinct, alongside his dad's. With all of these ideas out of the way, they were left to decide what else to do. 

"I don't know what else we can do. Until anything changes, we should all stick to the plan we ready have." Rapunzel stood up and sat beside Varian, pulling him into a side hug. Pascal crawled over and patted his cheek, making him smile. 

"That's probably best. Keep us updated V alright?"

"Will do." He mock saluted with his free hand. The other man smiled and joined the hug. The trio stayed like that for a few minutes before Varian's phone buzzed. Groaning, he pulled his arm free and checked it. 

'Hugo: u still coming over??'

"Oh I have to go. Hugo and I have to finish up a project."

He stood up and slipped his phone into his pocket. The other two stood up as well, Eugene smirking for some reason.

"Are you sure that's all you-"

He was interrupted by Rapunzel elbowing him in the ribs. She smiled at Varian while he looked at the two in confusion.

"Have fun Varian. Do you want one of us to go with you, in the car I mean?"

"Nah I'll be ok, besides I drove here and you guys would have to taxi back so it's ok."

The couple shared a look, "How about I at least walk you to your car."

"Rapunzel I'll be fine."

She held her hands up and walked to the front door. 

"I know, just a precaution. C'mon, humor me." He rolled his eyes and followed her out the door.

"Fine, bye Eugene."

"Bye nerd. Hey, be safe ok?"

"I will."

Rapunzel waved to her fiance and closed the door. They started walking towards the elevator. 

"Sooo, how is Hugo?"

He shrugged and pressed the lobby button, "He's fine, pretty busy recently so we haven't been able to hang out as much."

"That's no fun. At least you two get to work on a project together, what is the project on by the way?"

His eyes lit up and he turned towards his friend. 

"So in class, we're working on different sources of energy that we could replace coal and oil with. There were a lot of options but they have all been proven useless so I didn't want to do any of those, I mean come ON wave power doesn't even produce enough energy to light up a gazebo. Anyways, Hugo and I decided to do our own research and asked the professor if we could do nuclear energy, like fission and shit."

"Language."

He rolled his eyes and continues, "Today we're just doing finishing touches on our presentation but we might get to test it out. And let me tell you, getting something that has even around 10% of the same make-up as uranium or plutonium is really really difficult. I knew we couldn't get any actually radioactive material but it's ridiculous."

"Totally."

She smiled and continued walking. Rapunzel was the one person who Varian could rant to and who wouldn't judge him or tease him. Granted, she rarely understood anything he was talking about but it was still nice to be able to talk. Before they were really close (and way before the accident) they didn't really talk. Eventually, though, they became more like family, a strong sibling-like bond forming between them. They could always count on each other to be there when one of them needed help, which was probably why Rapunzel was so willing to make sure he wasn't alone. 

The conversation was cut short when they arrived at his car. She pulled Varian into another crushing hug.

"Be safe please." He tucked his head into her shoulder and smiled. 

A few seconds later, Rapunzel pulled away and rested her hands on his shoulders. "I will, don't worry."

"I'll always worry." 

Varian rolled his eyes and grabbed his keys, fully pulling away. He waved as he pulled out of the parking spot. Now onto Hugo's. 

Hugo:

Cleaning had got to be Hugo's least favorite activity. What was the point of cleaning only for everything to get messy again? And why should he clean for someone who had already seen his dorm at it's worst? Even with these questions in his head, it was still his decision to clean up, and he did. Though Hugo had never done a "deep clean" in his life, he still tried his best to shove any clutter on the table or couch into one of the rooms. It definitely looked cleaner than before because of this though. Donella would probably be yelling at him for such a low effort but eh, it was his place not hers. 

When he finally finished clearing off a few spaces, he dropped onto the couch and picked up his phone. Deciding to wait on getting his supplies until Varian arrived, he clicked on his Instagram feed and scrolled. 

After around 30 minutes of pointless scrolling, knocking sounded out from the door.

'Fucking finally.' Hugo thought as he stood up. He opened the door and saw Varian and his stupid raccoon.

"You just had to bring the garbage cat didn't you?"

His friend rolled his eyes and shoved past him, the animal on his shoulder hissing slightly. It was that Hugo didn't like the thing, he just hated it. Plus whenever Varian brought it over the dumb thing would eat all of the fruit it could find. Which he was never paid for. 

"He was lonely and his emotions outway your irrational hatred for him." 

He gasped as he closed the door, "How rude of you! My hatred for that pest is not "irrational"."

"Sure, are we going to work tonight or did I come all this way to hear you talk shit about my pet?"

"Oh because a five-minute walk was such a burden for you." Hugo sat down at the table and grabbed his computer, ignoring the glare that was sent his way. 

The raccoon quickly made itself at home, already stealing one of the apples on his counter. He contemplated throwing a pencil at it but that would most likely end with him gaining another bruise from his friend, so instead, he settled for scowling at it. To his left, Varian pulled out his own laptop and a few notes they took in class. They took a moment to get fully set up and grab all the necessary supplies. 

"Shall we get started?"

He nodded, "You got the thingy?"

"If by "thingy" you mean the mock uranium? Then yes."

"Great, how do we blow it up?" 

Varian stared at him with a dead-pan expression. "That is the opposite of what we want to do."

"Only if you want to go the boring route. Mini-explosions are much more fun." He grinned. 

"Why do I even try?" His friend turned his attention back to the screen in front of him. 

"Because I'm the most interesting and smartest person you know, obviously."

"Interesting is one word for you. I prefer nuisance or disaster-human, but interesting works I guess."

Now it was his turn to glare. "A nuisance who lets your pest eat all my apples."

"Are you seriously bring Ruddiger back into this?"

"Yes." 

Varian sighed, "Can we just get our work done?"

He didn't reply, instead focusing back on the work in front of him. Their presentation was already complete so the main issue was figuring out how to show the process of how the material would react. Luckily, that was the fun part. All they really had to do was replicate the solution that professionals used to temper the radiation down and apply it to the fake uranium they had. It wouldn't react like actually uranium, because it was both illegal and unsafe to have an irradiated substance on a college campus, but they made do. 

Hugo looked over the notes and stood up to get what they needed. Why he had almost all of what the needed to cundect the experiment was between him and his destructive hobbies. Grabbing the materials, he walked back to the table. 

"Is this all?" Varian looked up at him.

"You tell me, you wrote the notes dumbass." 

"Jesus, I was just asking jerk. Can you grab a baking pan?"

He sighed dramatically, to which the other man rolled his eyes and looked away again. "I have to do EVERYTHING."

After grabbing the pan and more or less throwing it at his friend, he pulled out two mugs. 

"Want coffee?"

"Do you have cocoa?" Of course he did, he specifically bought it for Varian. 

"You have an addiction hairstripe." 

It only took him a few minutes to heat up the milk and finish making the cocoa. Hugo handed the mug to his friend, who took it and thanked him. They continued their work, only taking breaks here and there to correct the other's notes. After a few tests, they finally found a substance that reacts to the fake uranium like how the real uranium would react. All of their supplies were quickly put away to avoid any unwanted explosions. As Varian finished properly packaging the fragile materials, he refilled their mugs. 

"When do you have to leave?"

"I don't know. I don't have anything tomorrow so whenever really."

He picked up the remote and grinned, "So you have time to watch Whole Nine Yards?"

"Fuck yeah."

Varian grabbed his drink and a blanket, getting comfortable on his usual spot on the couch. Ruddiger lept from the counter onto the top and the couch and quickly curled around his shoulders. It took a second for Hugo to turn his attention back to the tv, hesitant to look away from the other man curled up next to him. He turned away and searched for the movie, ignoring any thoughts that tried to make its way into the forefront of his mind. They sat quietly as the movie started, moving only to drink their warm cocoa. 

Halfway through, Varian started to close his eyes. Hugo doesn't notice however until his friend's head falls against his shoulder. He froze slightly before relaxing again, slipping the mug from his hand and setting it down on the floor. Eventually, he closed his eyes as well and leaned against the man beside him, falling asleep with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eugene is a cop because I'm uncreative and that's the closest thing to Captian of the Guard in modern times. 
> 
> Yay! Gay!!! Personally I think that Varian is oblivious to anyone having any feelings towards him so this might seem like a slow burn. But not to worry! Hugo has 0 patience and is a gay disaster so something's bound to happen eventually. 
> 
> See you guys next chapter.


	7. What I need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian enjoys his small amount of free time and Donella just wants Hugo to get his shit done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the best, thank you so much for all the great comments!
> 
> Sorry for all the typos throughout the story lol, proofreading is not my strong suit. Grammarly is such a crutch for me if I'm honest. 
> 
> More gay in this one by the way! Oh and Donella finally shows up (she's not a dick, sorry haters).

Varian:

Waking up in a random bed seemed to become a weekly thing for Varian. It didn't ever seem to be a bad thing though, lucky enough for him. However, he was in a different room than last time but it was more familiar. After becoming slightly more aware of his surroundings he guessed he was in Hugo's room. The amount of junk on the ground confirmed his guess. As he sat up to look around more, he finally noticed the weight on his lap. Right, he brought Ruddiger. The raccoon shifted a bit before lifting his head and looking at Varian. 

"Morning buddy." He cleared his throat, "water sounds nice right now, don't you think?" 

The animal chittered and crawled onto his shoulders, curling around his neck. Absentmindedly, he ran a hand through his fur and walked out the door. The dorm was oddly quiet, Hugo most likely still asleep. Though that did make him wonder where he was sleeping if Varian took over his room. He was momentarily blinded by the light filtering in from the open curtains as he walked towards the kitchen. As he approached the area, his previous question was answered. Laying face down on the couch was his friend, half falling off the furniture piece. He felt a pang of guilt as he realized Hugo must have given up his bed. 

Sighing, he continued towards the cabinet that had the cereal. Had Varian known he was going to take the couch, he wouldn't have fallen asleep so quickly. Nothing he could do now though, besides try and make it up to his friend later. 

As he went through the process of making his breakfast, he let his mind wander. His thoughts ended up focusing back on Hugo. Their friendship was weird at times, to say the least. The start of the friendship was pretty rocky with both their personalities clashing and the lack of trust. Eventually, though, it started to get better and more secure. Right now though, Varian was having trouble figuring out what the friendship was exactly; or in other words, he was having trouble figuring out how he viewed the friendship. He wasn't stupid, he could tell something was off with the other man, he saw the looks the other would give every now and then. It was getting more and more confusing to guess what it was though. With his own feelings in question and Hugo acting weird, he was worried something would fall through and the other shoe would drop. Everything with the relationship was going so well but it felt like it was all means to an end, something he very much did not want. 

To his left, Varian heard a groan which was quickly followed by a thud. Ruddiger jumped to the floor and ran over to his friend who was still laying on the ground. 

"Fuck off cat." He laughed and stood up, finally able to see the two. 

Leaning against the couch, he grabbed a pillow and threw it at them. "Well good morning to you."

Hugo flipped onto his back and glared up at him, though it wasn't very threatening seeing as he looked like a mess. His hair was literally everywhere and he looked like he just recovered from the plague. Ruddiger continued to smack his face, only stopping when Varian told him too. To which he scampered away and climbed onto the counter, again. 

"He better not be stealing my fruit." 

He shrugged and walked back to the table, "Not like you ever eat it. You haven't eaten a healthy meal in over a year.'

"How the hell would you know?"

"You literally only eat hot pockets. That's like your staple food."

"Is not." Hugo flopped back onto the couch and grabbed his phone that was sitting on the side table. 

"Why did you take the couch last night?" 

"Cause David had his girlfriend over yesterday and I really didn't want to touch those sheets."

That was not an answer. "Ew, but I meant why didn't you leave me on the couch? I wouldn't have cared."

The other man didn't reply right away, choosing to ignore the question and grab his own bowl for cereal. Varian looked at him expectantly as he sat down. A few seconds passed before he finally got an answer.

"I was already set up on the couch. Woulda taken more time, so don't think anything of it. It was really for my own comfort Goggles, thought you'd figure that out."

Once again, not what he was looking for. It was a deflective answer it was just him using his stupid humor as a dismissive response. He scowled at him but bit back a retort seeing as it wouldn't get him anywhere anyway. The conversation quickly died, neither of them having anything to add. It wasn't the usual silence that one that would typically ensue between them; this one was much tenser. It didn't help that Varian was still hoping for another explanation even though it was clear he wouldn't receive one. 

"When are you heading out?" His heart sunk. Did Hugo really want him out that badly? 

"Desperate to get rid of me?" 

"No but Don is gonna kick my ass if I'm late again so I'm just wondering." Oh, right. 

"Oh ok. Here let me go grab my stuff and I'll get out of your way." He stood up and set his bowl on the counter. As he walked past the table, his friend grabbed his arm. 

"I didn't mean it like I want you to leave Varian. That's not what I meant." 

Varian smiled at him, "It's ok, I should head home anyways."

The other nodded and let go of his arm, letting him continue to shove any of his belongings in his backpack. When he finished he considered asking Hugo to walk him home, just in case. Shaking his head he dismissed the idea, it was a short walk nothing to worry about. Carefully he slipped his backpack on, making sure not to jostle any of the materials inside (it would not be the first time his backpack exploded while he was wearing it), and turned. 

"Need me to walk you out?"

"You're literally in pajama pants."

"It's college Varian. No one cares." 

"I think I can manage."

"Are you sure about that? Cause I vividly remember having to save you last time."

"My hero." He rolled his eyes and scooped up Ruddiger from his perch. 

Hugo laughed and walked towards the door, opening it up and bowing, to which he received a punch to the arm for.

"Till next time, Your Grace."

"Bye jackass." Varian waved over his shoulder as he walked out towards the stairs. At least now he had some time to think.

Hugo:

In all honesty, he was already an hour late to his work. Though it wasn't like he had a great track record with being on time so Donella couldn't really be disappointed. It wasn't his fault her expectations were too high, even though they were completely realistic and achievable. At this point, it was routine for him to be an hour late and get a lecture on responsibility, it was their weird form of bonding. 

With the little time he gave himself, Hugo quickly finished breakfast and got ready. Despite what he told Varian, some people, unfortunately, did care if you were wearing pajama pants at work. It took 10 minutes for him to finally get out the door. Lucky enough for him, Donella's office was only a 30-minute drive, though it could be 15 if he ignored traffic laws. He chose to ignore traffic laws. By the time he got to the factory, he was a total of 1 hour and 25 minutes late, his average time. 

The guard standing outside the backdoor nodded to him and opened the door. Most of Don's men liked him so it made working here a lot easier. The factory had two floors, the manufacturing floor was on the 1st floor, and the business-oriented floor was 2nd. He spent most of his time down on the 1st floor but he always had to check in with Donella when he arrived. Like right now. As he walked, the other workers around him called out and waved to him. The elevator was all the way across the factory floor so he was able to say hello so almost every person around him. 

Hugo finally got to Donella's office and he creaked the door open slowly, trying to gauge if she was even there. She was, currently swamped in paper and focused on her computer. He swung the door open making it slam into the wall.

"Goood morning!"

"You're late." She didn't even look up from the screen as he plopped down into the chair in front of the desk. 

"Yeah traffic was a bitch. I got the report though."

Donella finally looked up, only to scowl at him and look back down.

"Do you want it or should I head back home? Cause I could really use the sleep."

When she glared at him again, Hugo sighed and pulled out the folder. She grabbed it and read it over, her expression never changing. His usual reports were just whatever he was working on in his energy class. It was never exactly what his pseudo-mom wanted but it was enough to count. This time however it was clearly less than his average quality because she sighed and closed the computer, setting the report down as well. 

"You can't keep using your classwork, Hugo. It's low effort and pointless." 

He rolled his eyes and slumped more in the chair. "Yeah, you've told me before."

"Does your group even know you use their research?"

"I only put what I find in there, besides I really don't think he cares."

Picking up the report again, she pointed to one of the paragraphs. 

"This entire paragraph, actually entire report, is basically worthless. We already know everything we need to know about nuclear, how are we supposed to use this?"

Once again, this was basically routine. He showed up late, would turn in his report, get criticized for the quality, be told to fo better, and do the opposite. None of it was new. That's why, as Donella continued to bash the paper, he tuned everything out. Anyone who saw the interaction and didn't know the two would assume the older woman hated Hugo. Of course, that was not the case. This was just her way of parenting, he guessed, and while she had her rough tactics, she did care. Deep down, like really deep down, she cared. It would never show through her words but every now and then she would do something sweet and he sees it. 

"Please start actually trying. It's getting ridiculous."

"Got it, will do." She narrowed her eyes and put the paper away. "Can I leave or do you need something else?"

After she nodded, he quickly grabbed his bag and walked out. 

The work that he did at the factory was nothing special. Even with obvious favoritism from Donella he still had to work his way up the ranks like every other worker. Most of the employees here managed the large generators that occupied most of the space. After them came the people who dealt with complaints from customers and demands from larger clients. He had already done his fair share of work in both departments, though the later was arguably more frustrating, so he was at the smaller department. This department was the research one. Where are the smart people go. Which was a relief for Hugo, because while he never was opposed to working on the floor, it was still nice to be able to use his skills for something more than a temperature check. 

His work was the main reason he was passing his classes with flying colors. Donella thought that he used his school assignment for his work but in reality, it was the opposite. Everything he learned or made progress in at the factory he could use in some way in at least half his classes. Overall, it was a really good gig, one that he tried to convince Varian to join but he didn't for...personal reasons. It didn't matter though, it gave him a break from his obnoxious emotions. Speaking of though, he was specifically putting off thinking about Varian or anything to do with him all morning. Internally groaning, he continued to work on whatever he was assigned this time, still doing his best to ignore his thoughts. That was proving to be more difficult as the minutes passed by, seeing as all he could really do what think.

But no, he refused to feel emotions right now. It was pointless. So instead of think, he focused all of his attention on the task at hand. He flew through most of it within two hours, moving quickly around the area. The people around him were doing the same thing, collectively they moved around one another like worker bees. This was the part of his job Hugo actually enjoyed, moving around with a purpose and an actual goal. By the time he got into a rhythm though, the project was finished. All that was left to do was send it over to Donella or one of her assistants to go over it and determine if it'll be used. 

He cleaned up his space and said goodbye to the other workers. Like always, he walked back to her office to tell her he was done. 

"Hey Don? I'm heading out."

"Before you do..." Oh come on, now what. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What's up?" She set whatever papers she was reading down and looked at him.

"What are your feelings for Varian?"

Wow, right to the point. He didn't even try and hide the obvious surprise on his face. 

"Um why?"

"Because something is affecting your work and it isn't hard to guess what that something is."

Jesus this was random. "He's my friend, as surprising as that is."

"I know what he is Hugo. But what do you want him to be?"

"I don't get why this has anything to do with my work. If you wanted me to do better you could just say so."

Donella sighed, "answer the question."

How does someone respond in this situation? Because right now, Hugo didn't know. Not only is it rare for her to even bother asking about his feelings in any way but to ask about his love interest that happens to be the same person she willingly tricked was just plain disturbing. Would there be any point in lying to her? She'd probably find some way to figure out how he felt even if he didn't say it right now.

"I honestly don't know." He looked towards the wall. "I have no idea what I want."

Her expression softened slightly. 

"You need to figure it out. For him, for you, and for your fucking job."

The bluntness was much more familiar. 

"Alright whatever I will."

She nodded, "You can go now, that's all I wanted." 

Thank god. As fast as possible, he grabbed his bag and rushed out the door, nearly sprinting down the stairs. 

Maybe he should think now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, Hugo didn't steal his and Varian's work to give to Donella. Varian knew that most of the research they were doing was going to be used at his work as well as their class. Don't worry, there's no side betrayal plot to this lol.
> 
> Lol Hugo may be a gay panic but Varian is an OBLIVIOUS gay panic. Fun mixture. 
> 
> Hope you guys liked it! Next one will most likely have more plot stuff but I'm not sure.


	8. Not today b*tch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Sh*t I didn't fix this part lol sorry) 
> 
> Varian takes a much-needed break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys quick update. I'm going to be posting every other day from now on (and technically now lol). Writing a chapter a day is taking over all of my free time and not only is it impacting my time to spend with family but it's also affecting the quality of the story. Thanks in advance for understanding.
> 
> Anywhays, enjoy!

Varian:

It was rare for Varian to get the chance to cook. Most mornings he had to grab some sad excuse for a breakfast and get to class. From anyone else's point of view, it would seem that like he never ate based on how busy he was. Sometimes that was the case. Survival was not his first concern like it was everyone else's. It definitely wasn't healthy, nor did it help how exhausted he felt 24/7 but with his schedule and skewed priorities that was just how it was. He wasn't dead yet, so at least he's doing the bare minimum. 

Today, however, he decided to actually cook something for breakfast. Varian was by no means a cook, on multiple occasions setting something on fire, but he was adequate enough to make it edible. The easiest (and by default his favorite) breakfast to make was sunny side up eggs and bacon. Once again, it was one of the easiest things to make so the probability that something caught fire was low. So that's what he decided to do, get up, make sure Ruddiger had food, and start on his breakfast. 

As the food sizzled on the stove-top, he scrolled through his phone. A notification popped up at the top of the screen. It was a text from Rapunzel, saying that she was on her way over to visit. To be honest, Varian completely forgot she was coming over for a few hours. He typed a quick reply and went back to scrolling, only stopping when he heard the popping of the bacon get louder. Quickly, to avoid an oil burn which he had many of, he placed the bacon on a plate he pulled out earlier and double checked the eggs. Also done, good to know. 

Knowing that Rapunzel would most likely want some, he threw on a few more pieces of bacon and sat down. Right as he did so a knock rang out from the door. 

'Good timing," Varian thought. She got here a lot faster than expected, judging from how she texted not even three minutes ago. Even with this weird timeline of events she was standing right outside his door, smiling at him. 

"Hey Varian!" He returned her smile and opened the door wider to let her in.

"Hi, you got here a lot faster than I thought you would."

She walked through and shrugged, "I kinda sent the text when I was already in the parking lot. Sorry about that."

"It's fine, I made some breakfast if your hungry."

"Oh, thank you! I had to get started on paperwork this morning and totally forgot about eating. Eugene had to run to the precinct early so I never made anything. It's like one little thing gets thrown off and...Varian?"

He hadn't realized he was zoning out until she waved a hand in front of his face. Blinking a few times, Varian looked at her. Rapunzel gave him a look of concern and tilted her head slightly. 

"Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah, just tired." 

Her nose scrunched up. Whatever she had to say next got cut off by Varina walking towards the table.

"I'm fine. School's just been a pain in the ass."

Normally this would be enough to dismiss her concern but apparently that was not the case for today. Instead of just shrug off the issue, Rapunzel sat down next to him and grabbed his hands. 

"Varian if something is bothering you, you can tell me. It's not healthy to bottle it up, we both know that." 

"Like I said, I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed, seriously I'm fine."

He pulled his hands away and continued to eat. In the corner of his eye he could see his friend sigh and start eating as well. Yes, he was definitely feeling off but it wasn't nothing he couldn't handle. The whole school excuse wasn't entirely true, while the schoolwork was taking a small toll on his wellbeing, it was definitely not the main factors. At the moment, he couldn't actually narrow down what was bugging him. Which was the main reason he didn't want to talk about it because how do you talk about something you don't understand yourself?

Rapunzel silently stood up and carried her plate to the sink. She had a determined look on her face, which greatly confused Varian. That was a look she usually had when she had a plan and was sticking with it no matter what, not a good sign for him. 

"Ok. Finish up, we're leaving."

"What?"

"You and I are going for a drive. Nope, not a choice." Without letting him protest, she grabbed his plate and tossed it into the sink as well. At least he had finished eating, not that he was happy with his plates being thrown. 

"Rapunzel I appreciate it but-"

"Good! Let's go."

Getting dragged places was getting more and more frustrating. Still, Varian didn't say anything as he was pulled out of his house and into Rapunzel's car. At some point Ruddiger had jumped onto his shoulders and was now laying in his lap. His friend didn't let his silence stop her from talking about anything and everything in her life. This was usually how the time they spent together went. Rapunzel talking about a mundane topic and Varian listening intently, preferring to stay quiet. Of course, his silence was broken the second she brought up something he was interested in or asked what he was working on in class. When that happened, the roles were quickly reversed. 

"Where are we going exactly?"

For being so talkative earlier she was rather quiet now that he asked a question, opting to shrug in response. Varian rolled his eyes and looked out the window again. The street they were on was oddly beautiful, not something he would expect from such a unpopulated part of town. While he couldn't really see everything in detail, because he was in car that was going a good 50 miles an hour, the overall color scheme of the trees was very striking. It was nearing the last month of spring and the flowers seemed to be trying really hard to prove themselves. The houses were surrounded by blossoming vines and bright green bushes, making the once drab and sullen neighborhood pop out. 

"So, feeling any better?"

Rapunzel poked him in the side and grinned. 

"No, not at all. Worse actually." It took most of his willpower to refrain from smiling. The pouty face she put on made him fail however. 

"Aw you poor thing. Ruddiger give him pity pats." Much to Varian's dismay, the animal did just that. His pet crawled up back onto his shoulders and pat his head softly, chattering sadly (more mockingly than sad though). 

"I feel betrayed."

"Yeah, how does it feel?" 

He gasped and turned to her. "How dare you. And I thought I could call you a friend, for shame Rapunzel."

They looked at each other and started laughing. Maybe they shouldn't make these kind of jokes but who really cares. Eventually their laughter died out and they were let in a comfortable silence. 

"Someone is following us." Rapunzel's voice lacked all of it's previous humor, being replaced with solemn anger.

"Wait what? How do you know?"

"They've been taking the same turns as us for the last 10 minutes. And before you ask, it's not a coincidence. Watch."

She took a quick right and sure enough the car behind then followed. Varian's calm melted away. It wasn't too hard to make an educated guess on who was driving the car. The usual dread and panic started to slip into his mind, making him rigid in the seat and his breaths short. He didn't bother asking any questions because it was clear at this point that the only answer was going to be stalking. Instead he reached up to Ruddiger and pet his tail, trying to calm his nerves.

"I'm going to go to the precinct, just in case."

Not trusting his voice to reply, he simply nodded and stared ahead. He jolted when Rapunzel rester her hand on his.

"Hey, it'll be ok. We'll lose him I pr- we will." Her correction did not go unoticed but he apprecieted it more than he found it annoying. It may have been a few years but it was an unspoken rule between the two to not make promises. 

"Ok."

Taking a few more turns, she got them headed in the direction of the police station. Eugene was most likely on duty right now so they might not see him but almost everyone recognized both of them. Though for very different reasons. From where they were, it was barely 15 minutes till they arrived. Those 15 minutes were tense and anxiety filled for Varian however. Neither spoke as their drove, only casting glaces towards the rear view mirrors, seeing the same car everytime. 

He half-expected to get a text from the driver behind them but he never did. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he didn't know. If Varian was honest, he figured this would happen eventually. The guy already found out his name, phone number, and daily schedule so of course he was going to eventually stalk him while he was with a friend. Creepo's mistake was following him while he was with Rapunzel. One could argue following him while he was with anyone was a bad idea but with Rapunzel? His not-biological-but-might-as-well-be sister? The only worse mistake would be if he was with Adira, that would not end well at all.

Hopefully the man would realize his mistake and leave once they reached the precinct, which was coming into view. He relanxed slightly as his friend pulled into one of the parking spots, the closest one to the door, before tensing back up when he realized their follower had parked as well. Rapunzel squeezed his hand before pulling away and going to open the door. Taking a deep breath, Varian followed her actions and stepped out. The second he did Ruddiger hissed from his spot around his neck. 

Deciding it was better to ignore the obvious presence a few feet away, he walked around the car and joined Rapunzel's side. They started to walk towards the doors disregarding anything they heard from behind them. It seemed to work until the guy decided to open his mouth.

"I don't believe I've met you miss."

Varian didn't get the chance to tell her to ignore him before Rapunzel whipped around and glared.

"That is very intentional." Her words were threaded with venom. 

The man raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. "Well I think it's better to meet the family first at least."

Whatever he meant by "first", Varian really didn't want to know. His statement only made his friend look even more hateful. 

"Clearly your priorities are scewed." She grabbed his hand and started to turn towards the doors again. 

"There's no need to be so defensive, I only want what's best for Varian as well."

It was his turn to glare now, "Oh does "best" include stalking?" 

His smile only widened and he started to reply. Rapunzel beat him too it though.

"We'll be leaving now. You should leave too, forever." 

Varian was dragged away for the second time that day, this time though he didn't oppose it. They made it through the doors without any more remarks made in their direction. When they stepped inside, he instantly felt more relaxed. Not completely but definitely more. A few people turned to look at the two but quickly looked back down. Rapunzel continued to drag him towards Eugene's office. Lucky enough for them, Eugene was not on duty and was sitting at his desk. Hearing the door swing open, he looked up and smiled at them. 

"Well hello Sunshine, and company." Rapunzel finally let go of his hand to move towards her fiance, Varian still following despite her grip vanishing. 

"You two ok?" 

He forced out a laugh and dropped into the nearest chair. "Not in anyway no."

Eugene gave Rapunzel a questioning look, to which she sighed and pulled away. She glanced at Varian before explaining what happened. As she recounted the exhausting events, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Panic was still prominent in his mind but it was slowly subsiding. Ruddiger had also seemed to calm down and was now taking up the task of helping block out sounds. 

"Do you want me to drive you two back?"

Eugene stood up from his chair and leaned against the doorframe. Driving with him would most likely be safer, the creep may be psychotic but he didn't seem that stupid. 

"Yeah that might be best." 

"I'll come with," Rapunzel added, smiling at him. "I can always ride with Eugene in the morning to get my car." 

The older man leaned down and whispered something to her, making her blush. She smirked and whispered something back after a second, Eugene's face now mimicking hers. Varian rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, successfully diverting their attention to the third person in the room. The couple laughed, Rapunzel's laugh much more bashful than her fiance's. 

"If you two are done now, I'd like to go home please." 

"He thinks it's weird when it's us but the second its his boyfriend it's not weird anymore."

"What are you talking about? I don't have-" Oh. Now he gets it. Varian attempted to glare at his friend but with his face being bright red it clearly didn't have the affect he wanted, seeing as Eugene doubled over laughing. When he looked at Rapunzel she looked like she was trying so hard not to laugh, it almost looked painful. After a few minutes they finally collected themselves and looked at their friend, who was still blushing like mad. 

"Are you done?"

"Yes, we are. Should we head out now?" 

He rolled his eyes again and stood up. "I mean 5 minutes ago would have worked but sure."

The three of them walked out of the station, Eugene doing a once over of the parking lot to confirm that no one was waiting for them, and hopped in his cruiser. Driving back wasn't as eventful as the drive earlier but Varian still enjoyed it. The couple had decided to ride up front together, leaving him in the back. Not his first time in the back of a cruiser and probably won't be the last. He continued to pet Ruddiger as they drove, passing the same sights as when Rapunzel and him passed. While the panic from earlier had receded the dread was still very much there. 

The more he thought about it, the more disturbing the concept of having someone stalking him was. The severity of it was not lost on Varian, he had known how scary it was from the beginning but it seemed so much worse now. Perhaps that was because he was finally giving himself time to think about it but whatever the case may be, he was slightly terrified. The man had proved to be unpredictable and rather dedicated to finding everything about Varian's life. He has no idea what weirdo plans on doing, whether he was going to continue to stalk him until he's literally forced to stop or god forbid something more drastic. Either way, he was going to be checking over his shoulder for a while. 

His concerns were quickly cut short by the car stopping. 

"We're here kiddo. Blondie'll walk you up just in case alright?" He looked at Eugene through the rear view mirror and nodded. 

Rapunzel stepped out of the car as he did. They walked away from the cruiser and made their way to his dorm. Neither spoke as they walked, Varian too tired to start a conversation. When his door was in front of the two, Rapunzel took his hands and looked at him.

"Look Varian, I'm sorry that happened. I really want you to just be happy and had I known he would follow. I mean I never would have taken you out and...I'm sorry." Her eyes darted away from his as she finished.

"It's not your fault. Really, it's fine."

She sighed and met his gaze again, "It isn't but I'm glad you're not mad. It's about time you got some alone time though."

He nodded and hugged her. When they pulled away, Varian smiled at his friend and went to open his door. Rapunzel passed him and laid a hand on his shoulder as a silent goodbye. 

'Finally' he thought as he crashed onto his bed. Ruddiger curled up beside him and chittered softly. Before he had the chance to get comfortable and take a much needed nap, his phone buzzed. Groaning, Varian rolled onto his back and unlocked it. 

'Unknown Number: I don't really like your friend. It's a shame someone like her gets to spend more time with you than I do. Hopefully I can see you again though ;)'

Rage quickly replaced any feeling of relaxation he felt. Stalking him was definitely not ok and completely creepy but insulting his sister is not an option. Logic quickly flew out the door as he let his anger type back a response. It was not a smart decision to let his anger have control but at that moment all bets were off. 

'Look I don't know you and I don't want to, but you do not get to insult her. Leave me tf alone and don't ever talk about my sister again or istg you'll be the one afraid, not me. get lost.'

When he didn't receive a reply, Varian through his phone onto the carpeted floor, glaring at the object. His pet must have noticed his anger because he quickly tried to console him. It worked after around the 5th lick to the face, Varian laughing and scooping up that animal.

"Thanks bud. Let's get some rest, we'll deal with him later." The pair curled up on the bed and rested. Sleep was already taking over the boy and giving him a necessary break. 

After all, they'd deal with it later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I base part of Varian and Rapunzel's sibling relationship off mine and my brother's relationship? Yes, yes I did. Ranting back and forth is one of my favorite past time so now it's theirs as well and no one can stop me. 
> 
> Sorry about not including Hugo in this one, I was going to but the chapter got way longer than I planned and yeah. 
> 
> Thanks for reading though!


	9. Why can't you just leave?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little more complicated for Varian and Hugo. Not in the same way, however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys its a miracle! I actually have a set plan! lol
> 
> Some family issues went down so that's why it's late sorry, it was pretty jarring but it'll settle down in a bit so I'll be able to continue my every other day update schedule. 
> 
> Thanks again for the comments and enjoy!

Varian:

Taking a nap in the middle of the day was like sleep-roulette. Fall asleep at 1:30 and wake up at 8 pm. Not only does it confuse you, but it makes you question what day, month, and probably year it is. All of this is assuming that an alarm clock isn't set for a certain time, like it wasn't for Varian, because he did not realize he would sleep for 6 and a half hours. But then again, does anybody really? Waking up in such conditions really didn't help Varian deal with the events prior to passing out. Everything was still fuzzy and he had a hard time figuring out the exact timeline of everything. When he did connect the dots, however, nothing really improved.

Ruddiger decided to jump directly onto his stomach as he attempted to sit up. Varian fell back with an oof and glared at the chittering animal, who was continuing to bounce up and down for some apparent reason. 

"I don't know why I let you stay in here sometimes." 

Lifting his pet off of him, he sat up and reached for his phone. Two texts from Rapunzel and one from Nuru. Rapunzel's was what he expected, just her checking in and making sure he's ok, and Nuru's was nothing out of the ordinary. So nothing exponentially important happened while he was passed out, good to know. It took a second for Varian to stand up, nearly blacking out from the blood rushing to his feet. Food was probably the best thing to focus on at the moment. 

His raccoon happily walked beside him, hopping up on one of the seats near the table. He tossed one of the apples sitting on the counter to his pet and started digging around in his fridge. With the amount of time he spends outside his dorm, it's not a surprise that he has barely any food here. The only thing that was close to edible in the entire dorm was a box of crackers, some frozen chicken strips (which have most likely never been touched), half a loaf of bread, the two other apples he usually saved for Ruddiger, two leftover eggs from this morning, and a bag of mini carrots. The meager supplies were honestly pathetic. 

"Ok, so we need to go shopping soon huh bud?" 

Varian sighed and grabbed the carrots, he'd go shopping tomorrow. Driving at night was probably not a good idea with what happened earlier. He really wasn't in the mood to get stalked, again. 

But apparently, fate didn't care what kind of mood he was in, because guess who decided to text right as he sat down to eat. The second he read the contact, Varian groaned and slammed his head against the table, making the raccoon a few feet away jump. The thought of having to communicate with this asshole was not one he wanted to entertain. Yet here he was reading the text, getting progressively angrier. 

'Unknown Number: Hope I can visit soon, miss seeing you."

So not only does the guy ignore his last text, but he also has the audacity to act like whenever Varian sees him it isn't completely unplanned and creepy. What kind of mental issues does this weirdo have? He typed out a response but received another text before he got the chance to hit send. This one was just another picture. However, it was such low quality that whatever the sole focus of the image was was impossible to make out. No matter how much zooming in and squinting he did, it was still difficult to see. Another photo came through this one much better quality. When he finally deciphered what the image was, the panic set back in. From what he could tell, it was of the front of a building, his dorm building. 

Quickly, he dropped the phone to the door, making sure it was locked. Seeing that it was, Varian grabbed his phone and Ruddiger and walked into his bedroom, the food on the table long forgotten. He sat on the bed and looked over the photo again. It was definitely the front entrance, the unkempt bushes, and cracked concrete giving it away. It could be an old photo, one that was taken a few days ago. Of course, that doesn't help the fact that the guy has been outside his dorm building and has taken photos of it. The image itself was dark though, so it was also taken at night like it was right now. Varian deleted his response from before to type another one. 

'What the hell? when did you take that?'

A few very tense seconds passed before the three dots showed up at the bottom of his screen, signifying a response. He glanced over at Ruddiger and pulled him closer, nervously petting him. The animal chittered, nuzzling his head into Varian's side. The action got a small smile out of the boy before his attention was brought back to the phone. 

'Unknown Number: Right now :) can I come say hi?'

Well, that was one question answered. Though that answer just made him panic even more, fear becoming more noticeable in the front of his mind. Even with the dread consuming his thoughts, the anger was still very much there. He was getting more and more pissed at the lengths this guy is going to just to 'say hi' no matter how many times he says no. Clearly taking a hint was not this guy's specialty. 

Varian took a deep breath and glared at the phone, typing again. 

'No. Can you just fuck off? I'm going to call the cops if you don't leave." While he didn't really want to bother Eugene again, this seemed to warrant the disturbance. 

If he was lucky, which did not seem to be the case recently, weirdo didn't know which dorm he was in and hopefully didn't have a way of finding out. The receptionist (who was rarely even there) knows not to give out dorm information so as long as she actually adheres to that rule he would be safe. The chance that he might find out though made Varian double-check the front door out of paranoia. If he had to be honest, the only reason he could function right now and wasn't gripped by terror was because of his anger. As funny as it was, it motivated him, quite often actually. He did not have anger issues, he had a lot of other issues but not anger, it was just what happened when he was motivated by just anger. Maybe it was his intelligence that made Varian dangerous when he was mad, maybe it was his cold unmerciful attitude, whatever it was he kept it down. 

Right now, however, with the fear and rage slowly mixing, it was getting more difficult to not march downstairs and put a knife through his stalker's forehead. That was a stupid solution, however, one that would probably land him back in prison. The state was beautiful and lively but it had the dumbest justice system. 

By the time he had cooled off and calmed himself slightly, Varian had received two more texts, much to his utter delight. Because this was helping his ability to control his anger so much. 

'Unknown Number: Why would u call the cops? Its just me, I'm not going to hurt you just let me come up.'

'Unknown Number: Cmon it'll be fine'

Oh yes, because that isn't concerning at all. He was tempted to just toss the phone aside and pray that he leaves but once again, stupid solution. As he typed out a reply, Ruddiger butted his head against Varian's leg and stared at him. 

"What?"

The raccoon chattered and started batting at the phone in his hands, successfully knocking it to the floor. 

"Are you proud of yourself?" It frustrated him to no end how smug the animal looked. He was most definitely proud of himself, the little shit.

Varian rolled his eyes and reached for the device again, intending to either text the man back or call Eugene before it got worse. The second he grabbed it though, it started to ring, startling both of them. Unsurprisingly, it was an unknown number, though at this point was it really unknown? He stared at the screen, hesitant to answer it. If he did answer it could give a wrong message and if he didn't it could make the guy more aggressive, and that meant more dangerous. His hands started to shake slightly, only making him scowl at them as if they were the issue. Finally he made a decision and pressed the ignore button. This time he knew who he was going to text first, going straight for Eugene's contact and texting him. 

'Eugene there's an issue. the creep is here, plz come.'

The second he pressed send his phone was flooded with texts, not from his friend unfortunately. When he looked over the texts, he rolled his eyes. At this point it wasn't even that scary, just obnoxious. Each one was a variation of 'how dare you' and 'it's just me' with a final 'answer me' to top it off. In total, he got 24 texts. Varian was about to go back to asking Eugene for help but was stopped by the phone ringing again. 

'Fine, fuck it.' he thought as he pressed the green button. Already he was preparing to yell at the man to leave or to fuck off. The call connected and he opened his mouth, only to get cut off before he could even talk. 

"I'm outside your dorm. Let me in." 

Varian paled and shut his mouth. How did he even find out? Did the receptionist seriously tell him? When did he even get there? He knew none of these questions would get an answer so he just sat there, not saying a word. Because how can you respond to something like that? There is someone outside of his dorm right now and this person has exhibited aggressive behavior and clearly does not have good intentions. This person has also been following Varian around, demanding he get the chance to talk to him. There isn't anything you can say to that, other than 'no get lost' but he's tried that. So that's why instead of speaking, he stood up and closed his bedroom door and locked it, never once moving the phone from his ear. 

The sound must have travelled through the speaker because the man spoke again.

"Unlock the door Varian. Let me in."

This time he was able to move past the terror and respond.

"No. I-I don't have to." Stupid stuttering.

"I want to talk dear, I deserve that don't I?"

"The police are on their way. Just leave, I'm not letting you in." He put every last feeling of anger into his words, trying to get the point across without sounding scared.

Of course he was still terrified though, he didn't doubt Eugene was on his was but there was no telling if he got here in time. There was still the chance that the man outside his door right now would break it down somehow, and that was scary as hell.

"Damn it Varian, I'm not going do hurt you! Why the hell did you call the cops? I do so much for you and this is what you do?"

He was yelling now, his voice carrying through the phone and dorm. Varian brought his knees up to his chest and moved to sit against the headrest, trying to ignore the voice coming from two different directions. The man was still yelling but he didn't know what he was saying, already having dropped the phone onto the bed and curling into himself to shut it out. Ruddiger hopped round him trying to calm him down every chance he got, though he was failing. The feeling of a panic attack slowly crept into his mind as his breath sped up. When he tried to move his head to either grab Ruddiger to make him stop running or hang up he became dizzy. The yelling from the phone went unnoticed as Varian tried to control his breathing. He was too out of it to do his normal routine for panic attacks so he focused on taking deep breaths instead. 

After a moment, his breaths stopped coming out in short gasps and returned to normal; the rest of his body slowly following in suit. Sirens added to the noice coming from around him. A weak smile made it's way onto Varian's face, Eugene was here. Everything would be fine. He jinxed it. Loud knocks started to sound out from the other room. Ruddiger stood up and started to hiss, stopping once he looked over at his human. Varian picked up the phone and pressed the end call button, finally silencing at least one voice. 

The next 10 minutes went by in another panic filled blur. Eventually the knocking stopped, as well as the muffled yelling, leading into an eerie silence. A few seconds passed before much calmer knocks came from his bedroom door. At first Varian tensed before hearing his friend's voice.

"Varian? Are you in there? He's gone, you're safe."

He sighed with relief, laughing slightly as he made his way towards the door. Once he finally got it open, it taking longer than usual with his hands still shaking, he nearly sobbed. Eugene was indeed there, quickly grabbing his shoulders before Varian could collapse. He clung to his friend and smiled.

"It's alright kiddo, everything is fine." Absentmindely he nodded. 

Eugene walked his back to his bed and sat him down, crouching to his level. 

"Did he get away?" He hated how meek his voice sounded, though he couldn't put enough energy into fixing it.

The look he got in response gave him the answer. Varian sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. 

"He left before I got here I guess. C'mon, I'll tell you in the car. I'll help you grab some clothes."

"What why?"

"There's not gurentee he won't come back, so you my friend are going to spend the night somewhere else. You choose where."

He stared at the wall and processed what Eugene said. The first place that popped into his head was Rapunzel and Eugene's but that was way too far. It took a moment for it to click. The only place that was not only close by (so he could pick up supplies from his own dorm anytime) and he would be safe at was Hugo's. It would work, assuming Hugo could nagotiate something with his roomate. Without putting anymore thought into it, because it was giving him a headache, he looked back up at Eugene.

"Hugo's. He's the next building over."

The older man raised an eyebrow and shrugged, turning back to the dresser and pulling out more clothes. Half of the clothes he was pulling out Varian didn't wear but it was the thought that counts. 

The rest of the time spent gathering necessities was spent in silence. It was only broken when Varian realized it was probably best to call Hugo in advance. So he did.

Hugo:

One minute Hugo was sitting on his couch, watching whatever Hallmark movie was one, the next he was getting spam called by his friend. What was with Varian and calling/showing up in the middle of the night? Granted it was only 9 but still, he was interrupting Hugo's shitty movie binge. 

Groaning, he grabbed his phone and pressed accept.

"In the middle of a Hallmark movie, really Varian?"

Normally this would get a laugh or an audible eyeroll but instead it was met with a sigh. 

"I know, I'm sorry, but I need to come over. I wouldn't bug you if it wasn't important. It's just this thing happened and I can't stay at my place fro a while and I know you have a roommate but if I could just stay for a few nights. I'll leave after it settles down just...please." 

Not the response he was expecting at all. Hugo sat up and muted the movie, trying to pay attention to the rest of his rambling. When he finished he stared at the table for a moment, not really knowing what to say. It was true that Varian wouldn't call this late if it wasn't an emergency but this was still concerning, especially considering his friend sounded like he was going to cry at any moment. 

"Hugo? Is it...can I come over?"

He shook his head and focused again. 

"Sure. Yeah it's all good, you ok?"

"Yeah? I guess. No yeah I'm alright."

Totally believable. 

"Right...When'll you be here?" David has actually done his laundry for once so the bed was all clear, though the rest of the dorm was a disaster. Speaking of his roommate, he'd have to call him to let him know his room was going to be used. Not like it's ever used anyway so he probably won't mind. 

"10 minutes. I have to bring Ruddiger though, is that ok?"

Jesus what happened? Varian was rarely this concerned about asking before bringing the animal, or asking about dropping by. 

"It's fine don't worry."

"Ok, I'll be there soon. Sorry again, I'll be out in a few days."

"It's ok, seriously hairstripe I don't mind."

"Thanks Hugo, be there soon."

He hung up and looked around at the dorm. Maybe he could sort through his thoughts while he cleaned. Neither of those activities actually sounded pleasant so he had no idea why he was going to do them but here he was. 

One question still rang through his mind though, the main concern at the moment actually: what the hell happened? Whatever it was, he would find out in the morning, cause there was no way he asking tonight. Being friends with someone was usually not this complicated, so why was it now? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varian's eating habits are worse than mine, and that's saying something lmao. 
> 
> Did you like it :)? All the d r a m a?
> 
> Sorry for like 0 gay in the last 2 chapters, the next 2 is like PRIME gay so I'll make it up to you guys don't worry! Ah yea and sorry for so little Hugo, once again, I'll change it soon I promise.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (also 3000 words! top record for my story, yay!)

**Author's Note:**

> Stay safe everyone!


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